The present invention is directed to a mounting mechanism for a print head and, in particular, to a mounting mechanism which permits the print head to be easily removed from the printer carriage.
In a printing apparatus making use of a print head, the print head needs to be removed and replaced during the assembly of the printing apparatus, when repairs must be made to the printing apparatus, and at the end of the useful life of the print head. Reference is made to FIG. 5 of the drawings which depicts a conventional mounting mechanism for a print head. A print head 31 is secured to a carriage 32 which acts as a mount for the print head by means of screws 33a and 33b. Whenever print head 31 needs to be removed as noted above, print head 31 has to be removed from and remounted on carriage 32 by rotating screws 33a and 33b with a special tool such as a screwdriver. Therefore, prior art mounting mechanisms suffer the disadvantage in that, in order to remove and remount print head 31, an operator requires a special tool such as a screwdriver and is forced not only to perform complicated removal actions but also to spend a considerable period of time doing so. Other examples of prior art mounting mechanisms for print heads are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,452,542 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,514,100.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a mounting mechanism for a print head which allows easy and quick removal and replacement of the print head.